Of Friends and Foes
by KimonoDragon
Summary: After a failed mission, Kim and Ron are recruited into a secret organization just as a new threat appears with Kim first on the agenda. COMPLETE
1. Devestation

I do not own Kim Possible, Disney does. Guardian T and Duke are my original characters.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN REEDITED. LITTLE HAS BEEN CHANGED. KimonoDragon

"Of Friend and Foes"

Chapter 1: Devastation

Three teens quickly and quietly moved through the shadows of the crates inside the dock warehouse. Leading the trio was a girl with red hair wearing a black shirt and green pants. She is Kim Possible, leader and founder of the world famous "Team Possible". The blonde haired boy behind her wearing a similar outfit was her partner and best friend Ron Stoppable. These two, along with Ron's pet naked mole rat Rufus, are the members of "Team Possible". The third person was a boy with brown hair wearing black jeans, red shirt and a black jacket. They know him as T. T is not a member of "Team Possible", but he is an agent for an ancient and secret organization. They had met a year earlier and T had told Kim and Ron who he was and what he did. At least part of it. He said he could not tell too much about it. The only other people who knew were Wade, Team Possible's computer whiz and Kim's family. And even they didn't know as much as Kim and Ron. A week earlier, T was tracking down a group that had got a hold on some highly sensitive information and technology. He took care of the group, but the items had strangely disappeared. Wade had got a tip that a mad scientist called Drakken had got a hold of it. That's why they were here. Kim and Ron would get Drakken and T would quietly remove the contraband. The three peeked around the sides of the crates into the open area of the warehouse.

Dr. Drakken was looking carefully over the contents of an open crate on the floor. His assistant Shego was watching their shrouded companion who was standing back out of the light. "Are you sure this will help me rule the world?" Dr. Drakken asked as he picked up a small metal sphere and looked it over.

"Of courssse," hissed the shrouded figure. "There iss no other technology like thiss in thiss world." Drakken replaced the sphere and picked up a large old leather bound book and tried to open it, but it was locked closed.

"Hey Dr. D, are you sure we can trust this guy?" Shego asked still watching the shrouded figure like a hawk.

Drakken looked up, "Yes, she's got a point you know. Why are you just giving me this? What do you get out of it, hmm?"

"Pleasse, ressst assured that there iss nothing amisss. My massster hasss his reasonsss. All he asksss in return isss a ssmall tribute when you have accomplished your tassk."

Kim looked at the guys, "Any idea who that is?" she asked.

"I don't know, but he is way creepy," said Ron, Rufus nodding in agreement.

T frowned and replied, "He is trouble, keep away from him if at all possible."

"It ssseems we have vissitors!" spoke the shrouded figure as it shrank into the shadows.

"Kim Possible! A surprise as always, but this time I shall win," laughed Drakken, "Shego!" At that Shego leapt at Kim and the two began to spar, trading blows and punches.

T tapped Ron on the shoulder, "I need you to try to get that crate away from Drakken before he tries to use something in it. I've got to find our mysterious friend before he gets away."

"Okay," said Ron and he ran to the crate. Drakken, absorbed in watching Shego and Kim fight, didn't see Ron pull on the crate. Ron got away a couple of feet before he noticed.

"Huh?" Drakken ran and grabbed hold of the other rope handle and pulled. "Let go, its mine!" Drakken and Ron pulled back and forth on the crate in a tug of war, lifting it into the air.

"Rufus, a little help." Rufus came out of Ron's pocket, scurried across the crate and began gnawing on the rope.

"Stop that you rodent," screamed Drakken and swiped at Rufus. It was too late though for the rope snapped and the crate smashed to the floor, spilling its contents. Metallic spheres and cylinders rolled across the floor. Shego stepped on one, causing her to lose her balance for just a second, but long enough to allow Kim to send her flying into Drakken.

"Looks like I win, Drakken," said Kim.

"KP Watch out!" Kim turned around to see a shadowy hand reach out and grab her throat. Kim tried to get loose but she couldn't get a hold of the hand. Her throat burned but the rest of her body started to get cold. "KIM!" cried Ron. T came running in, leaping over the crates to get the shrouded figure. He tackled the shrouded figure and Ron caught Kim as she collapsed. Her eyes were glazed over, unfocused, and she was shaking violently. Ron held her in his arms, "Kim? Kim! Come on KP say something!" Rufus was making worried sounds and pointed at Kim's throat, there was a discoloration in the shaped of the hand that held her. "What's that? What happened?" Ron asked frantically.

"It's venom, don't touch it." T knelt down beside them pulling out a small rectangular box from the bag that was around his waist, hidden under the jacket.

"What was that thing?" asked Ron.

"Classified," replied T as he pulled a small vial out of the box. He got out a piece of cloth and poured the contents of the vial onto it. He placed it on Kim's throat, "Hold that a sec." Ron held the cloth in place. T began wrapping gauze around Kim's neck and secured it. "That will keep it from closing off the windpipe." T told Ron.

"She won't stop shaking," said Ron with worry in his voice. T looked up at Ron and noticed Drakken and Shego getting to their feet, the shrouded figure urging them to get the book.

"Yeah." T reached into the bag again and pulled out a small leather pouch. From within that he pulled out a small red shard and jabbed it into Kim's shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

T stood up, "It will draw the venom out. Get her out of here and go quickly. Get as far away as you can." Ron was about to ask why but by the look on T's face he thought better about it. He picked up Kim and ran out the door.

He ran for a few minutes till he figured he was far enough away and lay Kim down. She had stopped shaking now, and he noticed, "Thank goodness for that." He pulled out the Kimmunicator and called Wade.

"Ron? You look worried, what's wrong?"

"Kim's been hurt Wade, we need help!" There was a bright flash and a low rumble that shook the ground.

"Was that an explosion?" asked Wade. Ron looked in the direction of the blast and saw that the section where the warehouse they were in just minutes before was gone. All that was left was a pile of smoldering rubble.

"He was still in there."

"Who?" asked Wade.

"T. He was still inside the warehouse with Drakken and Shego and that thing that hurt Kim!"

Wade typed away on the keyboard. "I've contacted Global Justice. They should be there soon. Ron, what happened to Kim?"

"There was this creepy guy in there with Drakken. He was giving that stuff T was after to him. He came out of nowhere and grabbed Kim by the throat. It looked like he had burned her, T said it was venom. He put something on her throat, said it would keep it from swelling and then he put something in her shoulder that is supposed to draw out the venom."

"How does she look now?" Ron looked at Kim again, Her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly but evenly. The shard in her shoulder caught his eye. He looked at it carefully, he thought he saw it glowing but it wasn't. "Ron?"

"Huh. Oh, Wade. She seems to be sleeping, I guess that crystal thing is working."

A noise in the distance alerted Ron to the approach of GJ. Several vehicles arrived all at once. Many were putting out the few fires that had caught because of the explosion. One came next to Ron and Kim. Two men came out with a stretcher. They moved Kim onto it and loaded her onto the med unit.

"I'll contact Kim's parents and let them know what happened. You go with Kim, they will want to know what happened so they can treat her."

Ron nodded, "Okay, thanks Wade." He turned off the Kimmunicator and looked around. The cleanup crews were already going through the rubble of the warehouse. Ron wondered if they would find T, if there was anything left that is. He climbed into the med unit and began telling the medics what had happened. A man closed the door and the med unit left.


	2. Aftermath

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 2: Aftermath

Kim woke up staring at a white ceiling and she quickly recognized it was not her own. She sat up, she noticed there was an IV in her arm and that her shoulder was bandaged as well. The lights in the outer part of the room were off, only the light above the bed was on. She heard breathing coming from a corner of the room and looked to see Ron sitting in a chair fast asleep.

Ron shifted positions, coming to long enough to notice Kim sitting up. "Kim! You're awake!" he said. He stood up and walked over to the bed. Kim looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi Ron," she said.

"Hey Kim, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," she told him, "My shoulder is a bit sore though, what happened? The last thing I remember was fighting Shego when something grabbed me. My throat was burning, I couldn't breathe and then everything started to get dark and cold. I could hear you calling for me, but you sounded so far away I could not find you." Kim shivered as she thought back at that.

"It was that thing with Drakken that grabbed you. T wouldn't tell me what it was, but he said it was venom that burned you. He treated you for it. He put some stuff on your throat to keep it from swelling and then he put a piece of red quartz, at least that's what Wade called it, in your shoulder."

"Why did he do that?" she asked.

"He said it would draw out the venom," he told her. "When you were brought here the doctors tried to remove it, but it would not come out. About six hours later it came out on its own. The doctors couldn't find a trace of poison in your body after it came out. Strangely they couldn't find any before then either."

"Okay," said Kim, "what about T? Did he complete his mission?"

"He's gone," said Ron.

"Wh-what? Gone! How?" Kim asked Ron, not believing what she heard.

"After he treated you, he told me to take you and get as far away as possible. The look on his face Kim, it must have really upset him that you got hurt, and he didn't want it to happen to me as well." Ron sat back down in the chair. "When I stopped to call Wade, there was an explosion. The entire warehouse was gone. GJ searched through the wreckage, this was all they found." Ron pulled out a small black box from the cabinet above his head and handed it to Kim.

She opened the box and inside was three items. The first was a gold medallion shaped like a two-inch square diamond with a squared off letter G in the center. Next to that was a red jewel that Kim noticed a part of was missing. Judging by the metal band that ran around the outer edge of it, it used to be part of a heart-shaped pendant. She wondered why T was carrying this around with him and who gave it to him. It seemed to her that it was a token of love from a girl. Did T have someone he cared for? Where was she and what would she say when she found out he was gone? Kim shook these thoughts from her head as she pulled out the third item, a red shard.

"What is this?" she asked Ron.

He looked at it and answered, "That is the piece of quartz that was in your shoulder. It looks like it is the same stuff as the jewel."

Kim placed the shard back into the box and closed the lid. "Are you sure this was all they found?" asked Kim.

"Yes."

"Then maybe he got out in time," she said, "and in a couple of days he'll contact us and let us know that he is all right."

Ron shook his head. 'I don't think so Kim; you've been asleep for two days. If that were the case then he would have already been here. Besides, about eighty percent of the wreckage was ash. Dr. Director said whatever caused the explosion was so hot that it burned itself out quickly. That was all that was found that was not burnt to a crisp. Nothing living could have survived that."

Kim placed the box on the table beside the bed. "It's all my fault," said Kim, tears forming in her eyes. "If I had been paying attention, then I would not have got hurt and none of this would have happened." Ron moved over to the bed and put his arm around Kim, trying to comfort her. Kim rested her head on his shoulder.

"No, it isn't," he told her. "If it had not happened that way then it would have happened some other way, probably with us in it too. You know how T was always saying that things happen for a reason."

"Yeah, I know," said Kim. A 'Everything happens for a reason, and behind every reason is a purpose. It is these purposes and how we deal with them that determine what we will become', that's what he said."

Ron stood up, Kim held onto his arm letting it slide until their hand met. "Look," he said, "It's about two o'clock in the morning your Mom and Dad went home to get some sleep, I said that I would stay here and keep them posted on how you are. Why don't you try to get some rest while I go and call them?"

"Okay, I'll try," she told him.

Ron walked over to the door and opened it. He turned back around and looked at Kim, he smiled at her and said, "It will be all right KP, we'll get through this together." She smiled back at him and he walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone. She lied back down on the bed and thought about all he said. Slowly exhaustion took over and she drifted off


	3. A Message From the Other Side

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 3: A Message From the Other Side

Early that morning Kim's parents returned to the hospital. They were very happy to see their daughter up and awake again. They talked for a little while and when Ron left to get breakfast, Kim's mother told her that Ron had never left the hospital since they had arrived. She said Ron had seemed different, sad one moment, angry the next, and determined after that, not his usual carefree self. Later on the doctor came around and gave Kim a check up. He gave her a clean bill of health and that afternoon she was released.

When they returned to school a couple of days later, everyone was glad to see that Kim was okay. They asked her what had happened and she told them the best she could. Doing so reminded her of the unfortunate event over and over again, but when she got depressed, she always found Ron at her side to cheer her up. Monique noticed this and smiled to herself to see her friends growing closer. Through it all, Kim noticed that something was missing from the scene, but she could not put her finger on it. She asked Ron if he noticed it too, he said yes but he didn't know what it was either. They decided it was nothing and forgot about it until a week later.

It was early in the morning. Kim and Ron were walking to school when Wade called. "What's the sitch Wade?" said Kim when she answered the Kimmunicator.

"You've got a weird e-mail on your site. Its sender ID says it is from T." Kim and Ron looked at each other.

"What does it say?' they said together. "Not much it says Middleton High School, seventy-six, twelve, twenty-eight, and nine."

Kim thought for a minute, "Sounds like a locker number and a combination."

"That's what I thought," said Wade.

"We'll check it out when we get there Wade," said Kim. A few minutes later they arrived at the school and located the locker. "Okay, here is locker number seventy-six," said Kim. She turned the combination dial left and right stopping at the numbers from the e-mail. 'Twelve, twenty-eight, nine." She pulled on the latch and the door opened. Inside were a large sealed envelope and a letter addressed to Kim.

Kim read the letter aloud while Ron opened the envelope. "Kim Possible, you are reading this because something has happened to me. The e-mail you received was set to be sent if I did not reset it during the period of one week. You might be wondering why I have this locker here at your school. That is because it is my cover in your town. After we met during that giant robot fiasco, I was impressed by your skill and transferred here to Middleton. You did not recognize me, but that was necessary for me to do what I needed to do. Inside the envelope that is with this letter, you will find my cover ID along with two others."

Ron looked inside the envelope and pulled out three ID cards. The first was a state issued drivers license. The picture on it closely resembled T, if they did not know who it was they would not have recognized it. The name on the ID was William Brandon Good. "William Good?" said Ron quizzically, then it dawned on him who it was. "Willy B. Good!"

'Do you know that name Ron?" asked Kim.

"Yeah, he always kept to himself, sat in the back of class, I think he slept the whole time but always passed every test, no matter what. Now I know why." He looked at the other two, "Hey these have our names on them." He showed them to Kim and sure enough they had Kim's and Ron's names on them. Kim took hers and looked it over. On the top left corner was her picture, beside that was her name, date of birth, height, weight, hair color, eye color, race, sex, and location number which was a long digit divided into three parts. Written on the right side of the card in large bold capital letters was HDPD and clearance level A. The last thing on the card was a barcode along the bottom.

"What are these for, and what is HDPD?' asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Kim, "maybe it's in the rest of the letter." She continued reading the letter. "The other two ID cards are for you and Ron. These are clearance passes that allow you access into most government facilities around the world. These cards are only temporary though; they will expire one year from today. As with the e-mail, the ID cards were activated by non-activity from me. I was going to test you, to see if you were ready to join us yet. That is why I was here by the way, I was watching you and waiting for the right moment to test you and Ron. Alas that seems to not be the case right now, but the cards should help you out if all hell breaks loose. Perhaps my predicament isn't as bad as all that and I will return in due time, but be wary of an imposter. There is another that looks like me and even at times pretended to be me, but he is an enemy, his name is Akuma. But let us not dwell on the bad and hope for the better. In the mean time let me welcome you into the HDPD. What does this mean? Let's keep that a secret for now, we can use it as a password since Akuma does not know what it means. Guardian T."

"Guardian T huh," said Ron as they walked down the hallway. "Do you suppose that's what the medallion stands for?"

"I guess. Hey Wade check this out." Kim held up her card to the computer screen in her locker.

"An ID card huh." Wade scanned the card, "Whoa! You're not going to believe this, but that is a high-level security clearance card."

"How high is it?" asked Kim.

"Very high. The CIA, FBI, they have nothing on this. You could get into Area Fifty-one with it, easy."

"Wow, that is high," said Ron.

"That's not all," said Wade, "The name on the card, HDPD, is slightly mentioned in the histories of the world, most commonly when the current world governments were created. There are even stories that it is even older than the rumored Illuminati. It's amazing that you were giving a membership."

"A temporary one as least Wade. I wonder what he meant by 'they would help if all hell breaks loose?' In the letter though, it sounded like he could get out of whatever trouble he got into and come back when needed. Could it be that he is still alive somewhere?"

Ron shook his head. "Kim, we've been through this before, he could not have survived that explosion. I mean he was only human, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Kim. "Talk to you later Wade." She closed the locker and her and Ron went to class.


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 4: The Calm Before the Storm

The mention of trouble in T's letter disturbed Kim, but she could not explain why. She was always going into life threatening situations, but none of them bothered her as much as this did. She asked Wade to watch for anything out of the ordinary no matter how insignificant. Time seemed to drag while she waited to hear from him. The hours turned into days and days into weeks and nothing happened. A month passed before Wade called again with news.

"Hey Kim, you wanted to know if anything happened out of the ordinary. Well I don't know if this is what you were wanting, but over the last few weeks the crime rate around the world has fallen."

Kim and Ron looked at each other then looked back at the Kimmunicator. "Isn't that a good thing Wade?" asked Ron.

"Yes it is," said Wade, "But it is how it happed that is so strange. Organized crime is falling apart. Several head members of the Mafia and Yakuza have been sent to jail when mountains of evidence appeared. Some of the lower members turned themselves in, confessing to everything they have ever done in exchange for protection. Even street gangs have disappeared, it looks like something has the bad guys running scared."

"Any idea on what that could be Wade?" asked Kim.

"None at all Kim, if they snow what it is they aren't talking."

"Okay, keep watching that to see what develops," said Kim.

"You got it, later Kim."

Kim turned off the Kimmunicator and put it away. "Bad guys running scared," she said to herself.

"Do you think there is something to it?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Kim, "I have a bad feeling about it that I can't shake. I've had it a while now, I think this is just the calm before the storm."

Weeks passed again and nothing happened yet except for more of the same. Kim checked with Wade every few days and every time he told her the same thing, the crime rate was going down worldwide. Ron was starting to worry about Kim. She never acted this way before. He wondered if something more happened to her when she was attacked, something emotionally. He decided to not let Kim know and made it his mission to keep her spirits up and get her back to normal. He acted goofy on purpose to make her laugh, Rufus helped out too. Kim knew what he was doing and really appreciated him for it. She cheered up for him and over the next couple of weeks everything was going back to normal. It was not long before Ron began to feel that something was going to happen. He knew Kim was right about this being the calm before a storm, and he felt that when the storm blew in it was going to be a big one.

Early one Saturday morning Kim woke up with a start, her heart was beating fast and she was breathing hard. She looked at the clock it was a few minutes after six. She tried to think what it was that caused her to wake up, "Was it a dream?" she said to herself. Something was wrong. She could feel it. She got out of bed and looked out the window as if whatever had woke her up was out there. The sun was just coming up, out in the distance she could see dark, ominous clouds rolling toward the town. "The storm is about to break," she thought. The phone rang and brought her out of thought. She picked it up and answered, "Hello."

"Hi Kim, I didn't wake you did I?" it was Ron.

"No, I was already up. You're up early though."

"I couldn't sleep," Ron paused a minute, "I woke up with this feeling that you were in danger."

Kim quickly looked back out the window and scanned the area, there was nothing there. "Everything is fine Ron," she said as she continued to look out the window, "I had a bad dream, but I'm okay."

"What about?" asked Ron.

"I don't remember, but I'm sure it was nothing though."

"If you say so," Ron said, "I'll let you go now."

"Yeah. Hey Ron, thank you, you know for caring. You've always been there for me, I see that now."

"I always will KP, bye."

"Bye." Kim hung up the phone and looked up at the storm cloud once again. This time it didn't look as bad for she knew that no matter what would happen Ron would be there to help.

Late that afternoon, Kim and Ron met at Bueno Nacho. Ron and Rufus were playing their nacho version of Jenga again while Kim stared out the window at the darkening sky. "Are you sure you're okay Kim?" asked Ron as he pulled a chip out of the pile.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm okay Ron." She turned her head to see Rufus pull out a chip from the tower. It wobbled a little then stopped.

Ron did the same, "This is it Rufus, now we'll see who has the skills." He looked at Kim, she was staring out the window again. "I've been kind of worried about you lately Kim." Kim looked at her friend giving him her attention. "You haven't been yourself lately, like a different person all together."

"I know I have been," said Kim, "But I don't know why. It's like I'm feeling someone else's emotions, seeing the world through another person's eyes, and I've been having weird dreams of a guy in shadow with orange glowing eyes calling my name. It has been like that for the last couple of months."

After a moment of silence Ron asked, "Was that what you dreamed about this morning?"

Kim shook her head. "I really don't know what it was I dreamed this morning. What about you? You called just after I woke up, did you have a bad dream too?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," said Ron. "I dreamed that, . . ." the Kimmunicator beeping interrupted Ron.

Kim turned it on, and Wade's image came on the screen with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong Wade?" Kim asked.

"Global Justice wants to see you and Ron, Dr. Director is coming to get you herself," he said.

"Why does she want us?" asked Kim.

"I think I had better leave that to her."

"A good idea." Ron was startled and pulled out a nacho too quickly, sending the tower falling onto the table where Rufus cheered and began eating.

"Dr. Director!" exclaimed Kim, "What's going on?" Dr. Director looked at the two and frowned a little.

"I can't tell you here, if you would please come with me I will fill you in back at Headquarters." Kim and Ron got up from the table and followed Dr. Director out the door.


	5. The Doppleganger Conflict

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 5: The Doppelganger Conflict

After a short ride they arrived at GJHQ, Dr. Director led Kim and Ron into the main control room. "What is so important that Wade couldn't tell me?" asked Kim.

"Tell me something first," said Dr. Director, "Have you been contacted by anyone recently?"

"No, not since that letter from T two months ago," replied Kim.

"T contacted you? The young man who died in that explosion?"

"Yeah, apparently he had it set up to be sent if something happened to him. An automatic e-mail was sent after a week with the location of the letter. This was with it," Kim reached into her pocket, pulled out the ID card and handed it to Dr. Director. "Ron has one too." Ron pulled out his and handed it over. Dr. Director looked over the cards carefully then held them to the light. Slowly the image of a squared off G in a diamond appeared in the center.

"Incredible," she said, handing them back to the teens. "They are authentic, I figured you would have got those after I saw the medallion."

"Do you know what it is?" asked Kim.

Dr. Director nodded, "Yes, a few people are given the knowledge of the Guardian. The medallion is like an officer's badge. It is the symbol of rank for an HDPD member."

"That letter was signed Guardian T Kim," said Ron.

"That's right, is the Guardian rank high Dr. Director?" asked Kim.

"According to rumor it is, not much is really known about the HDPD. The last known appearance in the US by a Guardian, was in the late seventeen hundreds. The last time someone was given an A class card in the world was more than a hundred years ago. The events that happened then have been erased. That seems to be the way they work, behind the scenes, not in the limelight."

"That does sound like the way T worked when we met," said Kim as she wandered into thought. "What was the reason for T giving us these cards?" thought Kim. "Dr. Director, did something happen last night?"

'Yes, that is why I asked you to come here. I just wanted to confirm that piece of information before I told you." Dr. Director motioned to a man at a control deck, he pressed a button and a couple of chairs appeared out of the floor. "Please, have a seat. I have a feeling you might need them." Kim and Ron sat down in the chairs, both of them were beginning to get nervous now. "I am sure you know about the drop in the crime rate, correct?" Kim and Ron nodded. "For the last two weeks everything has been dead, nothing happening whatsoever. That is until last night when there were several robberies committed across the continental US."

"You want us to find who the thieves are, right?" asked Kim.

"We already know who they are," said Dr. Director, "They wanted us to see them. We just don't know why they did what they did."

"If you know who they are then why did you want us here?" asked Kim.

"See for yourself." Dr. Director nodded to the man at the control deck again. "This is taken from the surveillance camera at the Gold Reserve in New York." An image of a vault door came on the main screen, Kim and Ron stared in shock as they watched a red headed girl and a blonde haired boy take out the guards and begin to empty the vault.

"It can't be!" exclaimed Kim. "That's us! There's no way we could have done that, we were at home all night."

"That's right, just ask Rufus," said Ron as he opened his pocket.

Rufus scrambled out and climbed up onto Ron's shoulder. "Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh."

Dr. Director smiled at the two, "I believe you, but others might not be so understanding."

"You believe us?" asked Ron.

The screen split into four images, "This should clear things up a bit." Dr. Director turned toward the screen. 'The image on the top left is the one you just saw. The other three are from other robberies across the States, the last one being from California."

Kim watched the videos looking for something off to prove that it was not her and Ron. "Wait a minute, four o'clock, three o'clock, two o'clock and one o'clock. These all happened at the same time."

"How could they have happened at the same time if they are an hour apart Kim?' asked Ron.

"Because of the time difference between New York and California Ron," said Kim. "When it is four o'clock in New York, it is one o'clock in California."

"She's right," said Dr. Director, "They all happened at the same time. That is how I know you did not do it, I'm just not sure why it was done. Someone went to a lot of trouble to frame you two for those crimes."

"You know, I bet it was Drakken. I mean he has made clones of us before," said Ron.

"Maybe," said Kim, "but this doesn't seem like something he would do. He's more of the 'take over the world' kind of guy, not the 'make a bunch of clones to steal for me' kind."

The Kimmunicator's beeping stopped everyone's talking. Kim pulled it out and answered it, "What's up Wade?"

"Your not going to believe this Kim, but somebody's sent you a challenge," said Wade.

"A challenge? Who?" asked Kim.

"I don't know who he is, but you can see the message for yourself." Wade disappeared from the screen to be replaced by the image of a man sitting in what appeared to be a throne, surrounded by shadows.

"Greetings Miss Possible," spoke the man. "I am sure by now you have witnessed the deeds performed by my . . . doppelgangers, shall we call them? I do hope you were impressed by them, I am sure the people they pilfered from were. I am sure your young friend will have told you the nature of this call before you see it so let's get down to it. As good as my doppelgangers are, one still poses the question as to who is better. The doppelgangers or the originals? Tonight at twenty one hundred hours my doppelgangers will break into your town's largest bank. I of course, expect you to be there to try to stop them. Your local news crews shall be there as well, seeing as I shall invite them to watch as you battle your counterparts. Should you lose they shall watch as the bank is emptied and then as every establishment in the area is done likewise. No one shall be able to stop me then, and I shall crush the governments and rule all. Let that be an extra incentive for you to win the battle tonight Miss Possible. Remember, twenty one hundred hours, tonight. Do please be on time."

Wade came back on the screen. "That's all there was, I tried to track where it came from, but all I came up with was a bunch of dummy locations from around the world. This guy is good."

"Thanks Wade, good try. Looks like I'll have to accept his challenge if I want to stop him. Let me know if anything else comes up." Kim turned off the Kimmunicator and put it away. "Well, our mystery villain has made himself known, uh sort of. He's another of the 'rule the world' kind of bad guy."

"He certainly didn't waste any time on eliminating the competition," said Dr. Director. "I'd even say he was the cause for the drop in crime."

"Well he made a mistake in challenging Kim. His criminal career will be over before it begins, right Kim?' asked Ron.

"Yeah," said Kim, "But something seems different about this one."

Dr. Director stood across the street from the bank. Global Justice vehicles were parked around the perimeter and as promised by the mystery man, news vans were beginning to show up. A light rain began to fall as lightning flashed across the sky and was followed by a low rumble of thunder. She looked at her watch, "Fifteen minutes to go," she said to herself. Inside the bank Kim and Ron waited for the hour to strike. The rumble of thunder echoed through the building.

"Sounds like the storm is here," said Ron. "Hey Kim, be extra careful on this mission, okay." Kim looked at her friend and could see that he was worried. She usually saw fear and concern on his face during a mission, particularly when it involved monkeys or Wannaweep, but this time she noticed it was a different look.

"I'm always careful Ron, this shouldn't be any different from when Drakken made clones of us. There is just going to one clone this time though."

"That's what I'm talking about. You can get over confident sometimes. You should be careful with this one, I get the feeling this guy is out for more than just blood," Ron replied. "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Kim placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be careful Ron, I promise. Hey, is that what your dream was about when you called this morning?"

Ron nodded slowly, "Yeah. It was."

Kim's watch beeped, "It's time," she said.

"Whaa!" Ron pointed out onto the floor. Out in the center of the floor stood the doppelgangers, dressed in mission clothes they looked exactly like Kim and Ron. Rufus stuck his head out of Ron's pocket to take a look, a pink head appeared out of the pocket of Ron's doppelganger too. "Even Rufus!" exclaimed Ron.

The eyes of the doppelgangers flashed red for a brief second then the Kim doppelganger spoke, "The Master wishes for us to dispose of you counterpart, what The Master wants, The Master gets." In the blink of an eye the doppelganger rushed at Kim with a punch. Kim barely had time to block the attack and was pushed back by the blow.

"They're fast, and strong," she thought to herself. Kim threw a punch, her hand was caught and she felt a coarse pain in her side as the doppelganger kicked her. She went sliding across the floor to the front of the building. Kim stood up, leaning on the window for support. This definitely was nothing like Drakken's clones. This one was smarter than they were.

"Kim!" Ron yelled, Kim looked up in time to dodge the foot coming at her head. The glass shattered and both of them went falling into the parking lot. "Kim!' Ron yelled out again.

"You should worry about yourself, Monkey Master."

Ron turned to face his doppelganger, it stood there holding a sword with the mole rat sitting on the end. "Down," he said, the mole rat jumped off the sword onto the floor where it began to call to Rufus.

Rufus jumped out of Ron's pocket onto the floor in response to the challenge, "You okay with this buddy?" asked Ron. Rufus gave him a thumbs up and the two mole rats began what looked like a race around the building.

"Call the Lotus Blade," the doppelganger spoke.

"How do you know about that?" asked Ron.

"If one has a pure heart, the Lotus Blade will be able to find its way home. So call it Monkey Master and let our dual begin," the doppelganger spoke again.

Ron closed his eyes and held out his hand, moments later the Lotus Blade appeared in his hand. "You asked for it, well here it is," said Ron. The two leapt at each other with swords drawn.

It was pouring now and the rain beat down on Kim's face. She sat up and shook her head. She had dodged in time to avoid the main blow, but was hit anyway. She slowly got up on her feet, the glass crunching underneath. Inside she could hear the sound of metal clashing. She looked to see two figures moving with blinding speed in a graceful dance, "A dance of death," she thought. "Ron, when did you get that good?" she asked to herself.

"You should not be worried about them, I am your opponent," said a voice from behind. Kim turned to see her doppelganger standing about ten feet behind her. She stood there staring at Kim with burning red eyes that was rather unsettling. Kim could see the lights of the news crews across the street, as the lightning flash lit up the shadows she could see that there were more people than Global Justice agents and reporters watching. The doppelganger charged at Kim again, but this time she was ready. As the doppelganger punched, Kim ducked and gave one of her own and connected. Kim heard the doppelganger gasp as her fist went into its abdomen. The shock didn't last long and Kim was kicked away.

"She kicks like a mule," Kim thought as she watched the doppelganger jump into the air. She rolled out of the way as the doppelganger came down where she was just lying. Quickly she spun herself around knocking the feet out from underneath the doppelganger. Kim heard a crack as the doppelganger's head hit the ground. The crowd erupted into cheers as Kim got back up on her feet. She looked down at the doppelganger, it moaned and opened its eyes. Slowly it got up, "She's injured, that fall affected her," thought Kim. Her sides ached from having been kicked, she didn't think she could take another hit like that. "I'll have to take her down now if I want to walk away from this fight."

Kim rushed at the doppelganger and leapt into the air with a kick. The doppelganger caught her leg and twisted it around. Kim screamed out in pain as she fell to the ground. As the doppelganger looked down at Kim, its eyes glowed red again. "I'm sorry Ron, I wasn't able to keep my promise," said Kim. The doppelganger suddenly screamed out in pain, it reached behind its head pulling out a small pink animal that was clawing and biting its neck. "Rufus!" Kim called out. The doppelganger raised its arm to throw Rufus onto the ground. Kim quickly took the opportunity and with all her might she stood on her hands pushing herself up to kick the doppelganger with her good foot. She connected just under the chin and the doppelganger's head flew back. Kim fell back to the ground. She looked up the doppelganger wondering what was going to happen. For a moment nothing happened, then slowly the hand holding Rufus released him and he fell to the ground. The doppelganger slowly fell backward hitting the ground with a thud. Kim sat up and picked up Rufus, "Thanks for the assist back there Rufus," said Kim. Kim quickly looked around the lot, "Where's Ron?" she asked. "Kim!" a voice called out from the bank.

Ron came limping out of the broken window, his shirt cut in several places. "I see you won your fight too," he said. He limped over to Kim and held out his hand. Kim took it and he pulled her up off the ground. "You know you're liable to catch your death sitting on the cold wet ground during a rainstorm," he joked. The crowd burst into cheers again as the two teens began walking toward the road. Global Justice agents began moving in to take the doppelgangers into custody.

Kim heard a faint thunk, "What was that? Ron!" Ron began to sink to his knees, Kim tried to hold him up the best she could. "Ron, what's wrong?" she asked, then she saw what made the noise. A small metal rod was barely sticking out of his back. "No, Ron!" she screamed.

"A hollow victory, isn't it Miss Possible." Kim looked in the direction the voice came. Standing on top of the bank was a man. With bright lights in behind of him all anyone could see was his silhouette, and orange glowing eyes. He raised his hand in the air and grabbed something. He quickly flew into the air, as the lightning flashed again the shape of an enormous ship was seen high in the air.

Kim looked down at her best friend lying in her lap. The lightning flashed and the thunder roared, the rain beat down on her but she didn't care. She stroked his hair and he smiled at her. "Don't cry on my account Kim, it will all turn out okay." He closed his eyes and dropped limp.

"Ron?" Kim spoke, "Ron, speak to me!" Tears formed in her eyes and she pulled Ron's body close. The crowd was silent as they watched Kim. The reporters shut off their cameras and the Global Justice agents kept their distance. The sky itself seemed to react as well and the rain began to fall even fiercer. The roar of the rain was the only sound that was heard save for the sound of a lone girl crying.


	6. Conversations and Dreams

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 6:Conversations and Dreams

Kim stood over the freshly covered grave. Everyone else had left an hour before, but she decided to stay behind for a while. The grounds keeper left her a chair to sit in for her foot had not completely healed. Nothing was broken, but the twist during the fight caused a very bad sprain. Using crutches to move around she went over to the chair and finally sat down.

"Well Ron, I'm sure you'll be glad to know that no charges were brought against us for those crimes. The fight has been on all the news channels and has been circulating on the internet. Everyone came to the realization that the doppelgangers did all that and not us, but I'm not sure I like all that being out in the open. They have the decency to cut out the sensitive parts on the TV at least. What is going around on the internet though shows everything." Kim closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She sat there a few minutes looking up at the sky, the gray clouds were moving out finally. She returned her gaze back down again, catching a glimpse of her bandaged foot.

"You came out of your fight in better shape than I did. I didn't even notice that you had improved. When I saw you fighting, you were moving so fast that I could barely keep up. You seemed to have got better than I was. I bet you didn't let on for my sake, but when it came down to it you really shone. I could barely handle my doppelganger but you had little trouble with yours. If it had not been for Rufus, I would have lost that fight. You were right. I do get overconfident sometimes. We've been in so many life and death situations that we came out of, that at times I never thought that one of us actually could . . ." Kim pulled out a handkerchief to dry her eyes.

"Oh Ron, why did it have to be you? I am the one everyone calls and I drag you with me. Most people don't even know your name, not even Drakken could remember your name. Why did he target you? Why could he not have aimed at me instead? Everything happens for a reason. You reminded me of that phrase when I woke up in the hospital. Well I have a question for whoever decides these things. What was the reason for this? For what purpose does this serve?"

Kim heard the sound of a vehicle come up behind her. She turned and looked, her mother had come back to pick her up. "It's getting late now Ron, I should get going. Thank you Ron, for being my best friend, for being there when I needed someone to be there. Goodbye, not forever, just till we meet again." Kim picked up her crutches and stood up. She looked at Ron's grave one last time then went to get in the van with her mother.

Kim woke up with a start. Her room was dark. A quick look at the clock told her it was four in the morning. "Again?" she said, "Why do I keep dreaming that?" She turned on her light and sat up. A protesting squeak came from a small pink ball curled up in the sheets. "Sorry Rufus, can't sleep." She turned off the light and exited the room. She went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Who are you? Why can't I get you out of my head?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Kimmie, nightmares again?" came a voice from the door.

"Yeah Mom, the same one again," replied Kim.

"The one where you hear someone calling out to you?" her mother asked as she sat down across the table from Kim.

"Uh-huh. It's always dark, I can't see anything and then those eyes appear out of nowhere. I don't know why, but those eyes scare me to death," said Kim. Her mother looked at her from across the table with a worrying look in her eyes.

"It's been a week now since you started having this dream. Are you sure it's not caused by Ron being killed?"

"Yes Mom, I am sure," said Kim, "But it might not be far off from it. That morning I had a similar dream. Ron had one too, but he never told me much about it. He just said he dreamed about me getting hurt. He warned me to be careful, he told me that I tend to get over confident in what I can do. He was right too. I didn't think that the doppelganger was going to be so tough. I got hurt and Ron's dream came true. Then that guy on the roof had those eyes. Those eyes I saw in my dream, that I still see in my dreams. The voice seems familiar, but before I can find out who it is, those eyes show up and I wake up."

"You think that your dreams mean something?" Kim nodded, "Well I don't know much about that. I have heard stories of it though, but I do know for a fact that dreams help you deal with the day's events. What you went through was a very traumatic event, and it will affect you for a while. Give it time though, it will lessen. It might not go away altogether, but it gets easier. If it ever gets too much to bear, you know you can always talk to your father or me."

Kim smiled, "Yeah, I know. Thanks Mom, I feel a little better now."

Mrs. Possible stood up, "I'm glad to be of help. Well, I'm going to go back to bed. You should try to get some more sleep yourself since you haven't been sleeping much lately."

"I'll try to," said Kim as she watched her mother leave the room. She then got up and went back to her room. Sitting down on her bed she turned on the light again, this time there was no protest from Rufus. Sitting on the nightstand, she saw a small black box. "Strange," thought Kim, "I didn't think I had put that there." She picked it up and opened it. Inside were the gold medallion and crystal pieces that had been placed in it before and now the card that had been Ron's. She picked up the card and looked at it for a minute. "Somebody has died in the last two missions, if I go on another one I might not come back." She placed the card back in the box, turned off the light and lay back down. After a few minutes she drifted off to sleep.

Kim found herself standing in the middle of a forest. She looked around at her surroundings. There were mostly pine trees, but a few of the others were sporting orange and red leaves. The others were bare. In the distance she could hear the sounds of a fight. She began running in the direction of the noise and came upon two people fighting, or at least what looked like two people. One was a young man with long blonde hair wearing gray colored, old style of clothing and a cape. His eyes glowed red and he opened his mouth to hiss at his opponent, revealing elongated upper canines. His opponent was even less human looking. He looked like a wolf standing up on its hind legs. "This is just crazy!" said Kim, "I must be dreaming to see a werewolf fighting with what must be a vampire!" She watched the two fight, fending off each other's attacks until at last the werewolf latched onto the vampire's shoulder with its jaws.

"Be careful not to kill him Uncle," came a voice from behind a tree on the other side. Out stepped a young woman with long black hair wearing a long white dress that just touched the ground. Around her waist she wore a belt with a heart-shaped red jewel.

"That couldn't be," said Kim. The young woman walked up to the vampire, who was now on his knees, held down by the werewolf, and placed the jewel around his neck. The werewolf let go and stepped back. The vampire began to change its appearance. It began to look more like the werewolf, but with differences.

"It's working Uncle," said the woman, "The legend was true. The bite of a werewolf to break the control on him and the Ruby Heart Pendant to control the bloodlust, he has become the one who will unite the clans and end the war." The now vampire, werewolf hybrid on the ground looked up at the girl.

In a gruff voice it spoke, "I-Illiya?" In a flash of light it changed back into a man, only now he had short brown hair and brown eyes.

"He looks like T!" exclaimed Kim. "But, but how?"

"Everything happens for a reason." Kim jumped from the voice beside her. Standing there watching the event was a human like lizard. It stood at five and some half feet tall wearing what looked like black bicycle shorts, compensating for a long sinuous tail, and a sword sheath strapped to its back.

"What did you say?" asked Kim.

The lizard-man looked at Kim, "Everything happens for a reason."

"Somebody before has told me that," said Kim. "Where have you heard that? Who are you for that matter?"

Everything went black, Kim turned around to find herself in another section of the forest. It was nighttime now. Behind her she could see a village in the distance, in front of her were three people. The one closest to her was the man that looked like T. Standing in front of him was the woman he called Illiya. Another woman was holding her. She was a head taller than Illiya and she too had long black hair, but whereas Illiya's hair stopped half way down her back, the other woman's hair nearly reached the ground. "Let her go Duchess," said the man in an angry tone, "It's all over, you've lost so give up."

The tall woman laughed, "Just because you've become the Vampwere Guardian, doesn't mean I am going to give up. You may have taken control of the Vampire Clan, but I've got your traitorous girlfriend and I am going to enjoy my revenge on the two of you." A dark swirling vortex appeared behind her. With a final laugh she stepped back into it and disappeared.

"ILLIYA!" screamed the man and he jumped into the vortex after them.

Kim watched as the vortex closed, "She called him Guardian. What is this? Where is this?"

"Behind every reason is a purpose," said a deep growling voice from her left. Kim looked to see a six-foot tall creature standing beside her. This one looked much like the lizard-man except it was much more muscular. Its tail was thicker and had spikes on it that went all the way to its nose, and instead of a sword sheath on its back it had a pair of wings. It looked down at Kim with its yellow eyes. "All will be revealed in due time," it spoke and once again the scenery changed.

She now found herself standing in a room of an elaborate mansion. A candle chandelier was the only source of light. Standing in the center of the room was Illiya. Kim could tell that there was something different about her. A voice came out of the shadows, "Illiya, is that you? Are you okay?"

"T, you came for me. I knew you would," spoke Illiya.

"T? Could it really be him?" Kim asked herself.

T walked over to Illiya, "There are rumors of a monster terrorizing the villages around here. I figure it has to be Duchess, do you know where she is?"

"I haven't seen her in over a month, she left me here when we arrived," she told him. T placed his hand on her cheek and lifted her head up to look into her eyes.

"No. Not you," he said. He took off the Ruby Heart Pendant and placed it around Illiya's neck, "Why does it not work?" T pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her. Kim could see a look of sorrow on his face. "I'm sorry," he said. Illiya grinned evilly, she opened her mouth revealing her fangs. As she slowly buried her fangs into his neck, he spoke. "Lord forgive me for I must kill the one I love." Seconds later Illiya dissolved into nothing, the pendant and a silver dagger fell to the floor. Kim brought her hand up to her face not wanting to believe what she just saw. T dropped into a chair. He stared out into space, looking at nothing, with tears falling down his face. Kim realized that she too was crying, but she did not know why. It was then that she noticed she was not alone. Standing on either side of her was the lizard-man and the dragon-man.

Both spoke at the same time, "It is these purposes and how we deal with them that determine what we become." Kim looked at both of them, neither looked at her but kept their gaze on the center of the room. Kim looked back at T sitting in the chair.

A taunting laugh filled the room, "Forgive me for I must kill the one I love," the voice said mockingly. Duchess came out of the shadows looking down at T and grinning as though she thought he was a tame animal under her thumb. Kim saw T's expression change into anger. He dropped down out of the chair onto the floor on all fours. "Are you asking me for forgiveness?" Duchess asked in her mocking tone. "If you are willing to come back to my side, then you are forgiven. Oh come now, don't just sit there, stand up and declare your allegiance to me." T slowly stood up, his head hanging down all the time. When he reached his full height, he looked Duchess in the face. Duchess gasped and looked at T with disbelief. She smiled at him and laughed, "You fool." Seconds later she dissolved. Kim saw the dagger hit the floor once again.

"He took revenge on her," Kim said. T dropped to the floor, he blindly groped for the pendant. As soon as he touched it he let out an agonizing scream. Kim watched as for a brief moment he turned back into the blonde vampire. An evil grin spread across his face before he returned back to normal. Everything went black again, and Kim found herself standing in the darkness with the two creatures.

"Do you understand what happened?" asked the lizard-man.

"Was this T's past?" asked Kim.

"Yes," the lizard-man replied, "Do you understand what happened?"

"Do you understand what we are telling you?" asked the dragon-man.

"What you're telling me?" Kim looked at both of them thinking about what they said and what she saw. Her eyes grew wide as she came to the realization of what it was they were trying to tell her.

"So, you do understand," said the lizard-man. Kim nodded. "The darkness resides inside his heart. The Ruby Heart Pendant keeps it trapped inside," the lizard-man spoke.

"If the Ruby Heart Pendant is removed for too long, the darkness will escape. Bringing terror to the world," said the dragon-man.

"Are you saying that it was T who sent the doppelgangers out and killed Ron?" asked Kim.

"No," said the lizard-man.

"Not everything is as it seems," said the dragon-man. "Watch and understand."

An imaged appeared in the air of T and what Kim thought looked like his double. "And who are you supposed to be?" asked T.

"I am Akuma. Your, how should we put it, evil clone," spoke the other.

T shook his head, "Evil clone huh? How cliché."

"Maybe so," laughed Akuma, "But then again I wasn't the first one made." The image disappeared and Kim turned around to face the two creatures.

"I am Guardian Quicktail," said the lizard-man, "You may not understand what you just saw right now, but you will eventually figure it out." Kim looked at the dragon-man.

"I am Guardian Ryuu. Guardian T trusted that you were able to protect your world. That is why he gave you that card. This is the only way we can help you, as we can not enter your world. I hope it is enough." Kim started to speak but was cut off by a booming voice.

"She is mine!" Quicktail and Ryuu disappeared. In front of Kim appeared a young man wearing a gray outfit. His eyes glowed orange and his hair was blonde and brown streaked. "No matter what those two told you, you will be mine. I am coming for you Kim Possible."

Kim sat upright in her bed. The sun was up, Rufus was chattering worriedly to her. "I'm okay Rufus, it was just a dream. Huh? What's this?" Kim opened her hand, inside lay the crystal shard from the box. For a second it looked like it glowed. "Did you see that Rufus?" asked Kim. The naked mole rat shrugged its shoulders. "There's something important I'm supposed to remember about this but I can't think of what it is."


	7. Theories and Realizations

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 7: Theories and Realizations

Kim sat in a booth at Bueno Nacho staring at the crystal shard she was spinning in her hand. Rufus was on the table chewing his way through a tray of nachos. "I thought I would find you here." Kim looked up as Monique sat down across the table, "But to tell you the truth, this is the last place I expected to see you."

"I didn't plan on coming here, I just wound up here," said Kim. "I had some things to think about, so I went out for a walk to help clear my mind." Kim looked at the crystal shard in her hand again. "Besides, for some reason I'm feeling like my old self today."

"You're finally coming to terms with Ron's death then?" asked Monique.

"No, it's nothing like that," said Kim, shaking her head, "It's more like Ron is here with me. I've had this feeling ever since I woke up this morning holding this." Kim showed her friend the crystal shard.

Monique starred at it with wide eyes. "Wow girl, is that a ruby?"

"A ruby? Yeah, yeah I think it is. I think it's a piece of something call a Ruby Heart Pendant, but I'm not sure how I know that," Kim replied.

"Well, where did you get it?"

"Do you remember me telling you about a guy Ron and I met called T?" Kim asked.

"You mean that guy from the giant robot mission?"

"Yeah that's the one," said Kim. "He was with us on that mission when I got hurt."

"I've heard that story from Ron. He didn't say anything about that guy giving you a ruby," interrupted Monique.

"We decided not to let anybody know about that because of what occurred." Kim looked into the shard and took a deep breath. "I don't know what really happened, but according to what Ron told me, T had put this into my shoulder to draw out venom that was used on me."

"When that creepy guy grabbed you?" Kim nodded. "But what good would a piece of ruby do for something like that?"

"That's why we never told anyone about it. The doctors never found a poison of any kind, and they could not pull it out of my shoulder. It came out on its own a while later."

"That is kind of weird," said Monique, "He died in that explosion and you were left with that shard."

Kim nodded, "Yes, and that's not all. I have what GJ found in the rubble as well. Half of the pendant and a medal or badge of his rank."

Monique took the shard from Kim, "And this little thing now has you feeling that Ron is here with you?" Monique looked at Kim and a smile spread across her face. "Maybe it's because you were in love," she said.

Kim flinched at the remark, "What makes you say that?" she asked, her face turning a bright red.

"Well let's look at it," said Monique, "This shard was placed in you to draw out venom that the doctors say was never there in the first place. But you were burned by something and the mark completely disappeared, right?" Kim nodded in agreement. "Then maybe it's like some sort of magic rock that is powered by emotion. More than likely love, you did say it was called a Ruby HEART Pendant."

"Come on Monique, magic?" Kim laughed.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you don't think it's possible? What about Monkey Fist? Wasn't he exposed to magic from some monkey idols?"

"And Ron too," added Kim.

"You see, and if that's not enough for you, how about the time you turned into a monkey because of a pendant," said Monique.

Kim thought for a moment, "Are you saying that you think T was in love with me?"

"I can't really speak for him, but I know Ron was."

Kim blushed again, "Ron? Are you sure?"

"Yep," came a voice from below. Kim and Monique looked down to see Rufus nodding his head with a big smile on his face.

"See even Rufus says so," said Monique. "And you loved him too."

Kim turned her head away. "Now that you mention it, he did try to look out for me. The last thing he told me was, don't cry on my account, it will all be okay. It was only after that I realized I loved him."

"That proves my point," said Monique. "This little thing is powered by that emotion and it heals. That is why you are beginning to feel more like your old self. Is something wrong Kim?" Monique asked when she noticed the look on Kim's face.

"I was thinking about that night again. What you said made me think about something I didn't realize before. All day I have been trying to remember something, something important, and I think that it may have something to do with it." Kim closed her eyes in concentration. Monique sat quietly as Kim thought. "Something was off with Ron. It was what he said, or more importantly how he said it. It was almost emotionless, like he didn't care one way or the other."

"What are you trying to get at?" asked Monique.

"I know this is going to sound funny, but I don't think that was Ron." Kim went back into thought.

"You're right that does sound funny. The doppelganger is in the Global Justice prison. If that wasn't Ron, then who was it?" asked Monique.

"It would have to have been one of the other clones. There were four of them because of the robberies all being at the same time. Hmm, clone? I wonder." Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator and turned it on, Wade's image appeared on the screen.

"Hey Kim, how have you been doing?" he asked.

"I'm doing better Wade. I would like you to do something for me," Kim said.

"Sure, what is it?"

"This is a strange request, but do please humor me a moment. I'm sure you still had a chip on Ron, could you please run a check to make sure he is where he is supposed to be? I want to test a theory of mine."

"Oh, okay. Sure, just a second," said Wade, "But I'm sure it's gonna tell me that . . . Whoa, that's weird."

"What is it?" asked Kim.

"I'm getting five different signals. One from the cemetery. One from Global Justice and three others grouped together. And they're moving, toward Middleton."

"Okay," said Kim, "Our mystery villain knew about that. One more thing Wade, can you get an enlarged image of our mystery man from that video on the internet?"

"Already got it," said Wade, "Here it is." Kim gasped when she saw the image.

"What is it Kim? Do you know who that is?" asked Monique.

"Yeah, I do. I have been seeing that face for a week now. He looks like T except for the hair. This guy's hair is longer and it's striped. T's was short and brown. This must be that Akuma mentioned in T's letter."

"Who is this Akuma supposed to be?" asked Monique.

"The only thing I can get on it is the Japanese word akuma that means devil," said Wade.

"T mentioned that there was someone that looked like him, his name is Akuma. Akuma is a bad guy according to T. I get a funny feeling that Akuma is a clone of T, just like those doppelgangers of me are. You said that three other Ron's are heading this way, right Wade?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, that's right, and judging by the speed that they're moving they will be here by tonight."

"All right Wade, one more thing I need you to do. Contact Dr. Director and tell her to get everyone she can spare out here. Tell her I need her to evacuate the town, and if she gives you any grief tell her I'm pulling rank," Kim told him. He said OK and signed off.

"Do you really think its necessary to evacuate the town?" Monique asked.

"He is coming after me. He has three more clones of Ron and me. If he is as bad as I think he is, he will do everything in his power to get me. Even taking hostages." Kim picked up Rufus and handed him to Monique. "Take Rufus with you. If something happens to me, at least he'll be okay. You should go on home and tell your family to get ready to leave. I'm going to go by the Stoppable's to warn them before I go home. Global Justice should be here shortly."

"Be careful Kim, the world can't afford to lose another hero, and I don't want to lose another friend," said Monique. The two girls hugged goodbye and left the restaurant.

Kim raced home as quickly as possible. As she was about to open the door, a sense of dread came over her. "Mom, Dad," she called out as she opened the door. No reply came. She began searching the house, "Jim, Tim are you guys here? Is anybody here?"

"I'm here Kimmie."

Kim turned around, "Shego. What have you done to my family?"

"I, have done nothing to them," Shego spoke, "Don't worry about them though, they are being rounded up and taken to a safe place."

"A safe place? Are you helping me?" asked Kim.

Shego laughed, "Not quite princess, I'm here to help myself. If I can beat you, then maybe he'll choose to give the power to me." Shego fired a bolt of energy at Kim who quickly dodged it.

"Let's take this outside," Kim said as she ran out the door.

"He's coming here, you know," Shego shouted as she followed Kim out the door, throwing another energy bolt as well. "He wants you for some strange reason."

"Who is 'he', and what does he want me for anyway?" Kim asked as she traded blows.

"Don't you know? It's the reason he killed your sidekick," Shego taunted, "He seems to think you two were in love or something." She blocked a punch from Kim and backed off some.

Kim charged Shego with fire burning in her eyes. "Ron is not dead!" screamed Kim, and she leapt into the air. Shego tried to block the kick, but Kim's momentum was too great and she was knocked back into the wall of the house. She fell to the ground, groggy from the hit. She looked up to see Kim standing over her. "That was not Ron," Kim spoke in a quiet, angry tone, "That was one of the doppelgangers from the robberies."

"Do you see now why I chose Miss Possible, Shego?" asked a voice from behind. Kim whirled around to see who spoke, but there was nobody there. She felt a hand touch her, she began to feel herself fall and someone catch her. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she could hear someone talking. "Shego, I am very disappointed with you. You were only to retrieve her, not attack her."

"I'm sorry Master, please forgive me."

"We'll talk about that later, now finish your task and return to base." When Global Justice arrived minutes later, they found the Possible house burning in a blaze and the Kimmunicator laying on the ground in pieces.


	8. The Confrontaion Part 1

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 8:The Confrontation Part 1

Kim woke up in the most exquisite bed she ever saw. It was a large soft, canopy bed with what she believed to be satin sheets, and a curtain pulled all the way around. Everything was white. As she sat up, she noticed that someone had changed her clothes. Instead of the jeans and T-shirt she had been wearing, she now had on a long white dress with a sash tied around her waist and a choker around her neck. She pulled back the curtain to get up out of the bed. On the floor beside the bed were a pair of light gray, soft leather boots. "I wonder where I am?" Kim said to herself as she pulled on the boots. She stood up and looked around the room. "A girl could be flattered being offered a room like this," she said, gawking as she looked around. "That is if she hadn't been kidnapped first though." All the furniture in the room were antiques. There were a vanity, a large wardrobe, a free standing mirror, and various chairs and sofas. A lush dark blue carpet covered the floor, and red drapes covered windows. Kim pulled back the drapes to discover that it was a light plate to simulate a window. "Well that didn't help. I guess wherever I am, I'm in an interior room."

She looked at the door. No one had come in since she woke up. If she opened the door, would there be a guard, she wondered. Most villains didn't leave one because they thought she could never escape, but this one was different. This one did all he could to break her spirit, was always one step ahead, and seemed to be able to read her mind. If someone was there, she shouldn't have much trouble getting past him or her. Shego, who it looked like was working for him, would be the worst case scenario. She decided to chance it. She walked over to the door and slowly turned the doorknob. She pulled the door open slightly and peeked outside, no one. She fully opened the door and stepped out into the hall. There was no one in sight, and there wasn't any camera watching her either. She looked up and down the hall, both ends looked the same. It wasn't as extravagant as the room, but instead it looked more militaristic. Something told her to go left so she did. As she walked through several hallways, she noticed that the doors to other rooms weren't anything like the one back at the room. That one was made of wood and these were metal, and they seemed to be electronically locked.

When she turned the next corner, she saw a familiar face. "Ah, there you are Miss Possible."

"Senor Senior, Senior," said Kim.

"I was just on my way to fetch you," he told her. "If you would please, follow me."

"Where are we going?" Kim asked as she fell in beside him.

"The Master has requested your company for dinner, did you find your room to your liking?" he asked.

"Uh um yes. It is beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it, I helped out on the furnishings you know. Antiques such as those can be difficult to find for most people," Senior said as they rounded another corner. The place looked like it was built to be a maze to Kim.

She looked down at the dress she was wearing, "Did you have a hand in the clothes too?"

"No," he said, "That is all the Master's doing. He made that dress especially for you my dear." Wow was the word that Kim could think of with news, she decided to change the subject.

"This guy you're taking me to see. You call him Master. Shego said the same thing. Why do you call him that?"

Senior slowed his pace a little, "It is because he is a much better villain than we, and he told us to call him that until he completes his plan. Once he accomplishes that, he will then tell us his name."

"I already know his name," said Kim. Senior glanced at Kim but said nothing. He led Kim through another hallway, and Kim was beginning to get frustrated at how long it was taking. "Where exactly is he at?" Kim asked.

"He is in his apartments. He wished to have a private meal with you. It takes awhile to get there because the Master designed this to confuse the enemy, if one should ever get on board. Ah, here we are now." At the end of the hallway were two huge wood doors. Kim speculated that beyond them, the decor was similar to that of the room she was in. "You can let yourself in Miss Possible. He is after all expecting you," Senior said as they approached the double doors. "I have some business to attend to know, so I shall see you later I expect. Farewell." Senior turned and walked down the hallway disappearing around the corner.

Kim turned the doorknob and opened the door. Inside, the room was just as she expected it to be. The same blue carpet covered the floor. In the wall to the right was a fireplace, something she didn't expect to see. Various chairs and a couple of sofas were placed around the edge of the room. Unlike the room she was in, there were none of the simulated windows. In the center of the room was a small square dinning table set for two. There were a few covered dishes and a bottle sitting in a bucket of ice to the side of it on a serving cart. As she approached the table, her host came in through a door on the other side of the room. He was wearing an old style, light gray outfit with dark gray boots made of the same material as Kim's. His hair was blonde and brown striped and hung down to the middle of his back. He smiled a wicked smile and his eyes flashed brightly for a brief second as he looked at Kim. "Good evening to you, Miss Possible. I am glad you accepted my invitation for dinner," he spoke.

"Not that I had much choice in the matter," Kim said, watching him carefully.

"Quite the contrary," he said, "You could have refused my invitation and had dinner in your room." He walked over to the table and continued talking, "I know you have lots of questions you wish to ask me, we shall talk as we enjoy our meal." He pulled out a chair from the table, "Please, sit." Kim sat down in the chair, wary of her host in case he tried to do anything. He pushed in her chair and began taking the lids off the dishes on the serving cart. Kim's stomach growled and her mouth began to water at the smell of the roast that was uncovered. Her host sliced off a piece of the roast and placed it on the plate in front of Kim, then he placed a slice on his own plate. He then served her some vegetables, placed some on his own plate, and then offered her some bread. Kim took a piece and he sat down in the chair across the table. He took the bottle from the ice and pulled out the cork, "Sparkling Cider," he said and filled their glasses.

"You may begin eating any time you like," he told her. Kim began to eat, surprised at how hungry she was. "I am sure you would like to know where you are at, so let's begin with that. We are onboard the Bloodwind, a one of a kind airship slash fortress. We are currently somewhere over the Pacific Ocean." He took a bite of the roast.

"You were the one responsible for the drop in crime weren't you?" Kim asked.

"Yes I was," he said. "I called together some of your more familiar villains and talked with them about their goals and how I could help them achieve them if they worked for me. Your not so familiar ones were less receptive and had to be dealt with."

"By familiar villains, you mean Shego and the Senior's right?" Kim asked.

"Yes, they are not all I have on board. I am sure you know them all, Dr. Drakken, Lord Monkeyfist, Duff Killigan, and DNAmy," he replied. "They each have a job that fits them well. Drakken and Amy work together in the lab, they are the ones who created the doppelgangers. Shego and Monkeyfist are security onboard the Bloodwind and also my field agents, they are quite good at what they do. Killigan is in charge of the arsenal, you remember those exploding golf balls of his, and botanics since he has a way with plants. And the Senior's are in charge of finances."

"What are you getting out of all this, and why do you want them to call you Master?" asked Kim.

"Ultimately, world conquest. I've offered to give them a piece of the world to rule if they wished it, but they shall answer to me when they do," he said.

"Like a king," Kim said. She was beginning to understand her adversary.

"Precisely, and as for being called Master, I wanted to keep my name a secret for a while till we met. Would you like some more to eat?" He gestured toward her empty plate.

"No thank you," said Kim. "I already know your name by the way."

The man smiled that wicked smile again, "Do you now?"

"I do," said Kim, giving her own intimidating smile back at him. "But I would like to know what all this has to do with me."

"It's quite basic really. Every king needs a queen. I want the best to be my queen, and you are the best," he said, still smiling.

"I guess I should be flattered that you think I am the best, but what makes you think I will join you?" He starred at her a few minutes before answering.

"Because I've removed everything you ever cared about, your family and of course your boyfriend."

Kim's temper began to flare, "What do you mean by that?"

"They no longer exist in your life, they have been taken care of," he said. "You know that. Your boyfriend died in your arms if I'm not mistaken. I did have to remove your heart's desire after all."

"Are you saying you killed my family as well?" Kim said as she glowered at the man across the table.

He just smiled again and spoke, "I am saying just what you are thinking. Oh I know you are thinking that your boyfriend is still alive somewhere, so therefore your family is alive too. But there is some doubt going through your mind too." He tapped the side of his head, "You're thinking that maybe, just maybe that really was Ron and not a doppelganger. If that's true then maybe Mom and Dad and even the Tweebs are gone too." He gave a slight chuckle to see Kim getting so riled up at his words.

"You're making me think that by telling me that I am," Kim said, jumping up from the table.

The man stood up and walked around the table, "You know, there's a sparkle in your eyes when you get angry," Kim tried to punch him, but he caught her hand in his. "There'll be time for that," he said. He took hold of her chin and turned her head to the side, "Soon enough." He stroked the choker with his thumb then leaned in close to her ear. "By the way, you're wrong about my name. It's not Akuma," Kim's eyes went wide, "My name is Duke." He released her and stepped back.

The door opened and Monkeyfist walked in. Kim noticed that he was wearing a sword. "It's time for you to go now Miss Possible. Monty here will escort you back to your room. I will meet you again in an hour. Monty will take you to the audience room when it's time. I suggest you stay in your room until then. I don't want you getting lost in the labyrinth of hallways. Oh, and do keep our little talk in your head, that anger will suit you well." He walked out of the room through the door he came in.

"Let's go," said Monkeyfist. Kim stormed out the door after him, she kept starring at the sword.

"When did you get that?" she asked him.

Monkeyfist looked back at her and smiled, "The Master gave it to me after he killed Stoppable. I wanted to be the one to finally defeat him in battle, but he had to do it his way. He gave me the Lotus Blade as consolation." Kim continued looking at it, something about it felt familiar.

"Why did he give it to you as consolation?"

"Because," started Monkeyfist, "Ron Stoppable prevented me from stealing it from Yamanouchi. At least now I am the only one with mystic monkey power." The rest of the trip through the halls was silent. When they reached the room, Monkeyfist turned to face Kim. "You should know that Stoppable was a fine warrior and probably would have got better. I regret that I will never have the chance now to defeat him in the way befitting of such a fighter. I'll be back in an hour, be ready."

Kim walked into the room. "Even Monkeyfist believes Ron is dead," she said to herself. "Could he be telling the truth? Was that really Ron that night?" She shook her head, "No, that's just him talking. I know the truth." Kim thought for a moment about how Duke had been dressed, it had seemed familiar to her. She walked around the room trying to remember where she saw it and she found herself standing in front of the mirror. Kim looked at her reflection, the dress she was wearing looked familiar too. "Where have I seen these clothes?" she said aloud. "Senior said Duke had something to do with this dress. I think I've seen this dress and that suit together." An image flashed in Kim's mind. Kim thought hard on it until she remembered where she saw it. "If that's really real, then Duke is really . . . and he is a . . . No, that's impossible, isn't it?" She looked back at the mirror. She noticed the choker and remembered that Duke had stoked it. She pulled it off and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. It was nearly gone, but there was evidence of two marks on her neck. She clasped her hand over the marks and dropped into a nearby chair. "It is true," she said in a panicked voice, "He really is a vampire, and I've been bitten! That means that I am turning into one too!" She sat down at the vanity and watched herself in the mirror, waiting to see if her reflection would disappear. She watched for the entire hour and her image was still there, but the marks on her neck were gone. A knock on the door made her jump.

"Miss Possible it is time to go."


	9. The Confrontation Part 2

"Of Friends and Foes"

Chapter 9:The Confrontation Part 2

Lord Monkeyfist led Kim to a large room. The walls reached high into the sky. Walkways protruded from the wall about five feet above the floor. There, many types of weapons decorated the walls. There were swords, spears, shields and other bladed weapons, but no projectile weapons. At the far side of the room, in a chair upon a dais, sat Duke. He was listening to someone in front of him. The voice sounded familiar to Kim. "My Massster iss pleassed that the new Lord of the Blood Royals hass been freed. He wishess that you keep the contract we had with the Duchesss," the person hissed. Kim gripped her throat when she recognized the hissing voice.

Duke looked bored, "I am glad your master is pleased with my release. Give him my thanks Greaper, for if it had not been for your Nega-matter bomb, this," he pulled out a black, broken jewel that was hanging around his neck, "Would have never become a Black Heart Pendant." Duke laughed a little, "The Ruby Heart Pendant kept me trapped inside that bleeding heart's body, but now the roles have been reversed. Be that as it may, I am not the fool Duchess was. I do not fear your master as she did. So you may go tell him that I refuse, and that I do not want to see any of his spies in my domain again. Have you got that clear, Greaper?"

Greaper shrank back from Duke, "Yesss, it iss clear. I will go tell my Massster your reply."

"Good," said Duke, "Here, let me help you on your way." A dagger suddenly appeared in his hand, and just as quickly it was flying toward Greaper. It struck and Greaper let out a soul-shaking howl. In a cloud of smoke he disappeared, leaving only a scorch mark on the floor.

"So I guess I was right, you are T. And as impossible as it sounds, you are also a vampire," said Kim as she stepped out onto the floor.

Duke stood up and stepped down off the dais. "You are half right. Yes indeed I am a vampire, but not just any vampire. I am the Lord of the Blood Royals, which is to say that I rule all vampires everywhere in existence. But I am not that weakling T. He required the Ruby Heart Pendant and a serum he developed to suppress me. I am sure you heard the story how I got out of my prison." Kim walked to the center of the floor; Duke stood just at the foot of the dais.

"You talk like you and he are two different people," spoke Kim.

"We are," replied Duke. "He kept me locked away deep inside, using my power for his own purpose, and yet he always let those two freaks out."

"What freaks are you talking about? The only one I see is you," said Kim.

Duke began circling Kim, keeping the distance between them the same. "You don't remember them then? I did block your memory of the contact, but you seem to have recovered some of it. No matter, let's get on with the matter at hand."

Duke jumped back up onto the dais and sat down in the chair. "I take it you've seen the mark on your neck?" he said.

Kim nodded, "Yes, but I don't think it worked. I still have a reflection."

"A reflection," laughed Duke, "My dear I bit you to give you vampiric strength, not to turn you. Not yet at least, besides, I still have my reflection. You will still have yours when you are fully turned. Only a very low level of vampire does not cast a reflection. The vampires in your stories are all low level ones. High level ones such as myself, and soon to be yourself, do not have such weaknesses." Kim listened as Duke explained about the vampire hierarchy. "But we'll worry about all that later," he said. "As I said, I gave you vampiric strength. You should be feeling it, but we need to test it to see if you can use it properly. There have been some that can't use it well and they end up getting themselves killed." Duke snapped his fingers and the floor started opening below Kim's feet. Kim leaped back from the hole, a platform rose up from below with a doppelganger of Kim on it. "Now, you have fought one of these before," explained Duke, "And you did not fair too well against it. This one is unique. I designed the doppelgangers with some of my DNA to make them stronger than normal humans. This one has all that and Shego's DNA as well, making it stronger than the normal doppelganger. If you can utilize your newfound strength, you should have no problem whatsoever defeating it."

When Duke finished talking, the doppelganger attacked Kim. It had seemed as if time slowed down as Kim saw the attack coming. The doppelganger was slow moving to her and she countered the attack and threw the doppelganger around behind her. It all took a matter of seconds in actuality, and when Kim threw the doppelganger, it slammed into the wall far behind her with a sickening thud. Kim looked around in horror at what she did, and that she could sense the heart beat of the doppelganger slow down. Duke clapped his hands, and the platform went below. Moments later it came back up with two more doppelgangers, one of Kim and one of Ron. They walked past Kim to the other doppelganger and dragged it back to the platform. The platform lowered, but the two stayed behind. When the platform returned once again, the doppelgangers turned and faced Kim. Duke snapped his fingers and they leapt at Kim. Kim was still in shock at what she had done to the other doppelganger so instinct took over. Just as before, time slowed down for Kim. She found herself in a roundhouse just as the doppelgangers closed in. The doppelgangers flew back and landed on the platform, their heads twisted backwards. Kim dropped to her knees, not believing what she had done. Duke clapped his hands and the platform lowered and the floor closed back. Duke stood up and walked down off the dais clapping. "Congratulations, you took to it like a duck to water, and you killed your boyfriend to boot," he laughed.

The anger Kim felt earlier began to return. Kim stood up and looked Duke in the face. "What was the purpose of having me do that?" Kim said angrily.

Duke smiled, "To break your connection to your past. My killing Ron and your killing him helps to make you forget him."

Kim clenched her fists, "I will never forget Ron," she said, and threw a punch at Duke which was dodged. "I will never join you!" another punch, "And I will never be your queen either!"

Duke caught Kim's fist this time. "That's it, use your anger. It makes you stronger." He released Kim and she began a barrage of punches and kicks. Duke dodged each one as he continued speaking. "You have lost everything you ever cared about. Ron is gone, your family, your friends. I even had your town razed. There is nothing left to go back to. And when a person has nothing else left to lose, that person becomes very dangerous." Duke retreated from Kim and leapt upon the walkway on the wall. He pulled a spear off the wall and threw it into the floor in front of Kim. "You will be my queen, my dear Kim. If you don't want to, then you must defeat me," he said. Kim pulled the spear out of the floor, and Duke pulled another off the wall.

Duke stepped off the walkway. Twirling the spear, he circled around Kim. "Come, give me fight worthy of the new Lady of the Blood Royals." Kim swung the spear at Duke who in turn blocked with his own. Kim attacked several more times at different angles, Duke blocking each one until he attacked and broke Kim's spear. Kim tossed aside the broken spear. Duke threw his at the wall so that it stuck in it and caused a dagger to fall onto the walkway. Kim charged at Duke again, she threw a punch at him and this time it connected. Duke just stood there, Kim continued hitting him repeatedly. Duke wasn't even fazed. He stood there taking every hit. Kim stopped hitting him, she looked up at him and he laughed. "I truly have nothing to worry about with you. You have proved to me that I am superior, but you are not a full vampire yet so you still tire easily. Once you are, your strength will increase even more, but you will not surpass my own."

"I wish you would stop saying that," growled Kim. She tried to kick him, but he grabbed her leg and swung her around. He let her go and she hit the wall above the walkway. Some of the blades cut her arms and back as she fell to the ground. Her vision was blurry as Duke jumped up onto the walkway. She saw something flash in front of her and she reached out and grabbed it. Duke picked her up off the floor and held her face close to his.

"It is over now my dear, your blood smells sweet and as I drink you shall become my queen." Duke opened his mouth, his fangs extended, and as he was about to bite he screamed out in pain.

He dropped Kim and reached for his shoulder, trying to get something out of it. "No, not that," he said, staggering back. "Where did you get that?" He miss stepped and fell to the floor below.

Kim shook her head to clear it, "I will never forgive you for what you have done!" She picked up the dagger that was lying on the floor and jumped down. Duke managed to get to his feet. He held his head, shaking it back and forth as if he was in pain. Kim ran full force at Duke in a fiery rage with the dagger poised outward. Just as she was about to connect, she was stopped when he caught the dagger. Kim tried to push it, but Duke grabbed her hand trying to make her let go.

"You shouldn't do that in anger. That was the mistake I made," he said. "Let me do it instead," and he pulled the dagger out of Kim's hands. Kim looked at Duke and saw sorrow in his eyes, she then realized what happened. Duke thrust the dagger into his gut. He dropped to his knees and smiled, "You had no idea what this was when you got it. I hid it from you, this is a sacred blade and it is effective against us." Kim watched in silence, she knew that this was T talking now.

"You fool. You would sacrifice yourself to stop me?" said Duke.

"Yes," said T, "It is what makes me strong."

The dagger began to glow, the light spread out over him. Kim covered her eyes as the light became too bright to look at. A vibration like soundless thunder shook the floor and the light disappeared. Kim uncovered her eyes and saw T as she knew him lying on the floor. The dagger was laying broken in two in front of him. She didn't see as much blood as she expected to. She walked over to him and knelt down. Out of the back side of his shoulder Kim saw the red shard she had stuck in him. She had expected him to let her go, but she hadn't expected it to draw out T. The shard fell out of his shoulder. Kim checked his stomach where he had impaled himself. There was blood on his shirt, but through the slit in it she could see the wound slowly healing. "I expected to be dead by now." Kim jumped at the sound of his voice.

"What happened?" asked Kim.

"Don't really know myself," he said as he tried to sit up. "Listen, not all he said was true."

"I know that," said Kim. T placed his finger on her lips, telling her to stop talking.

"Not all he said was true, but he believed it to be. The Ruby Heart Pendant kept him locked in my heart, but he could influence me so I had to steel myself against him. When the tables turned, I could influence him. Since I was stronger I could make him do something without him knowing it." A groan came from the other side of the room. Kim and T looked over in the direction from which it came. A man with long blonde hair in a gray outfit sat up, it was Duke.

T cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Well, just call me Dr. Jekyll. It looks like that dagger ripped the Hyde out of me." T grabbed Kim's hand and placed the shard in it. "Go sit in the chair and press the top button. That will take you down, when you get there go out the door to your left. Use this and follow your heart, it will lead you to what you seek.' Kim did as he said, when she pressed the button the whole dais began to lower. Just before she was below the floor line, she saw T stand up. He held his hand out and a thin wire shot out from his sleeve, wrapped around a sword and drew it back in. The last thing she heard before the top closed was T speaking. "You're too dangerous to be left free."

When the dais stopped moving Kim stood up and looked around. The platform that brought up the doppelgangers was in front of her. Behind that were three capsules, inside them were the doppelgangers she had fought upstairs. Kim turned away from them and headed out the door to the left. The hallway was a maze as the ones she had been through before were. She opened her hand and looked at the shard, "Follow your heart?" The shard glowed and a feeling of serenity came over Kim. From the back of her mind she heard a voice call out to her, tell her where to go. She looked at the shard in her hand glowing brightly, she decided to follow the voice. She ran through the winding corridors. She soon noticed that some of the doors were marked. It was a laboratory she was running to. She stopped at a door marked Project DG, she pressed her hand to the plate at the side of the door and it opened. Inside many capsules were embedded in the walls. Kim looked in one marked SMN, inside it was something that looked like a cross between a man and a monkey. Many of the capsules had the same marking as the one she looked in. Further in was another corridor with just a few capsules. Some were marked SRS and some were marked SKP. One alone was marked SKS, Kim looked inside to find it empty. She looked in one of the SRS capsules and saw Ron inside it. Quickly she checked the ones marked SKP and found one with her inside it. "This must be where they created the doppelgangers," Kim said to herself.

An object between two of the SRS capsules caught Kim's eye. She ran her hand over it and a door opened up in front of her. The room was dark except for a cylinder that ran from roof to floor. Inside the cylinder, suspended in a liquid was a body. Kim recognized who it was right away. Even though a mask covered half his face, she had seen the boxers several times. "Ron!" Kim yelled out. Ron opened his eyes and looked at Kim. "Ron, it really is you. The real you this time," said Kim.

"Kim Possible!" came a surprised voice from the doorway.

Kim turned around, "Dr. Drakken."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm here to get Ron," she warned him.

"But, but how did you find this place?" Drakken asked shakily.

"That doesn't matter," Kim said. "Do you know how to get Ron out of this thing?" Drakken nodded his head. "Then do it," said Kim. Dr. Drakken moved over to a console by the door and pressed a few buttons. The liquid in the cylinder drained out leaving Ron on the bottom. The glass rose into the ceiling. Kim ran to him, pulled the tubes out of his arms, pulled off the mask and hugged him tightly.

Ron returned the hug lightly, "It's good to see you too KP, but do you mind if I get some clothes on. It's kind of chilly in here." Kim laughed and let him go.

Ron's mission clothes were found in a cabinet nearby and the two left the room, Drakken had run after he released Ron. Kim helped Ron walk, as he was still weak from being in suspension. The two teens stepped out into the hallway and were met by T.

"Follow me," he said. He led them down to another area where he opened a door to a stairwell. Kim and Ron noticed as they followed T that he was badly injured. "Don't worry about it," T said.

Kim and Ron looked at each other, "We didn't say anything," they said in unison.

"I could tell what you were thinking. Don't worry about it I'll be OK, just keep walking, we're running out of time."

"Where are we going?" asked Kim.

"Holding cell, then we are getting off this ship," he answered. They walked down the stairs to the holding cell. T opened a door and leaned against the wall. "Go on in and get them,' he said. Kim started to say something, but T held up his hand. "I'm not going to lock you in, I just figured you wanted to be the one to get your family. If you don't trust me I'll go, if you do hurry."

"Go on Kim," said Ron, "I'll stay here." Kim entered the room, it was small and another door was on the other side. The door was electronically locked like the lab door. Kim placed her hand on the plate to the side and the door opened.

"Kim!" cried out two voices. Jim and Tim ran out the door. "You should have seen the fight after you left, it was awesome," they said together.

"Oh Kimmie are you okay?"

"I'm fine Mom," Kim said. "What did Jim and Tim mean by the fight after I left?" she asked.

"We saw everything you did on a closed circuit television," Mr. Possible answered.

"We need to go people, the clock's a-tickin'," T hollered in the door.

The Possible Family exited into the hallway, "What's the hurry?" asked Kim.

"I'm about to tell everyone now," T said. He pulled up his left sleeve revealing a very technical looking gauntlet. He held down a button and spoke into it. "Attention crew, the Bloodwind is set to self-destruct in thirty minutes. Repeat, the Bloodwind is set to self-destruct in thirty minutes. Please go to the nearest escape vessel, this is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill. If you want to live to see tomorrow, get out of here now!" T held his hand out toward the end of the hallway. "This way please," he said and started walking. Moments later he stopped and turned to a blank wall. He stuck his hand on the wall and felt for a seam. He found one and pulled his hand back and punched a hole through the wall at the seam, then a second one lower down the wall.

"Cool!" said Jim and Tim.

"Our exit is on the other side of this wall," said T, "Kim, if you would pull on that side I'll pull on this one. Trust me. You can do it, no problem." T grabbed the wall where he punched holes in it. Kim followed suit. "Now pull," said T. Kim pulled at the wall and slowly it peeled back. Behind the wall was a hanger with a small craft inside it. "There should be enough space inside it. This was Duke's personal craft, get in and buckle up." Everyone got onboard and found a seat. T stumbled up the ramp and dropped into the pilot's seat. He turned on the ship's computer and quickly typed on the keyboard. "Our take off is going to be rough, as in an emergency drop out of the bottom of the ship. I've set the autopilot to take you home. As for me, I've reached my limit." T's head dropped down, before anybody could say anything the floor dropped out. It seemed like they were falling forever before they cleared the ship and the autopilot kicked in.

Mrs. Possible checked on T, "He's asleep," she said and sat back in her seat. Kim looked out the window and saw other vessels leaving the Bloodwind, and after the thirty minutes were up, it was engulfed in a series of explosions


	10. Epilogue

"Of Friends and Foes"

Epilogue

Kim and Ron walked down the hallway of the hospital. They had been kept overnight for observation. Ron was given a clean bill of health and was released. Kim was beginning to show signs of true Renfield's Disease, and nobody knew what to do. Kim and Ron were going to see the only person they knew who would know. The only problem was that person had been asleep for almost a day. They saw a Global Justice agent standing outside of a room down the hall. They had questions too. He nodded at the two teens as they entered. Lying in a bed was T, who was still asleep. Kim noticed the pendant that she had insisted be hung around his neck, was glowing a bright red and was whole once again.

"Wasn't this broken yesterday?" Kim asked Ron. Ron never got the chance to answer her.

"It grew back," said T whose eyes were wide open now. He sat up in the bed and stared at the door for a second before turning his gaze back to Kim and Ron. "The Ruby Heart, how to explain this, is kind of alive." T said. Kim and Ron stared at him with confused looks. "It's not alive like you and me, but in that it feeds. It feeds off of, and contains the most powerful force in existence. Care to take a guess what it is?" T asked.

"Monique had some idea about it being powered by emotions," said Kim.

"Yes, it is an emotion, but only one," replied T.

"Is it love?" asked Kim.

"It is love," said T. "It feeds off of the love of others that is freely given to you, and as it absorbs it, it grows into a full Ruby Heart. The stronger the love, the faster it grows." T held the pendent in his hand and looked deeply into it. "It connects you to that person, and in effect it protects you. You can even see that other person in a whole piece at times, even if you are far apart."

"Can it cure me of the vampirism?" asked Kim hopefully.

"No," stated T bluntly. He pointed to a satchel in the floor next to the wall. "Could you hand me that please?" he asked. Ron picked it up and handed it to him. He pulled out a black case from the front pocket and set it down in his lap. "I still have the disease that I call Lycanthropic Renfield's. If the Ruby Heart were able to cure a person of either of those two diseases, I would have been years ago." He opened the case and inside were some vials and an injector of some kind that was shaped like a gun. Kim never saw one of them before. "I created a serum for the blood lust," he took a vial and placed it in the injector. He placed it on his arm and it made a hissing noise. "It prevents me from having to drink blood to survive." He removed the empty vial, tossed it in the bag, and inserted another. "Would you open your mouth please?" he asked Kim. Kim opened her mouth and T looked in. Using his thumb, he felt along the tip of her teeth. As he swiped over her canine teeth, they extended a little. Before Kim knew what was happening, T shot the serum into her arm. Kim jumped back and rubbed her arm. "I discovered, once upon a time, that if given to a person who has been bitten, and has not fully turned yet, it would make the disease inert," T said as he packed the equipment back up. "In other words, it can cure you. It will take a while, but you should return to normal within a couple of days." He reached into his bag and pulled out another small box and handed it to Kim. "This is a single dose of the serum. Take it tomorrow around this time. It is in a one-time use injector."

"I have a question for you," said Ron. "What happened in that warehouse?"

T sighed, "Do you want to know about the explosion, or about the whole operation?"

"How about the whole operation thing," answered Ron.

"All right, I was informed that some highly dangerous and illegal weapons were being transported here. Dr. Drakken being the recipient of them. I didn't expect to see Greaper there. I expected one of their human agents to do the transaction."

"Could you please explain a little bit about that?" interrupted Ron.

"Greaper is a Shadow Beast, a demon of sorts. They come in a variety of assortments. Greaper is a contact for his group. His type usually doesn't make appearances to newbies right away. They work for an organization that wants to put the world in chaos. If Dr. Drakken had got his hands on the weapons, he could have easily started the cycle to that goal. As to the explosion itself," T continued, "A Nega-matter bomb was accidentally activated when Shego tripped over it fighting Kim. I was too busy looking for Greaper to notice it and it was too late when I did. Dr. Drakken and Shego escaped in time, but as I was leaving it blew. A Nega-matter bomb only erases positive energies, not the explosion that happened. But it did cause the other weapons to explode, and it caused the Ruby Heart to shift phases. The explosion itself caused it to break. Lost my medallion too."

"That is in my house, or was in my house. Till it was burned down anyway," said Kim.

"Ooh, yeah, I'll fix that little detail, but as for the medallion it will still be there." An awkward silence fell over the three.

Kim broke it, "Could you explain some things about Duke?"

"Ah Duke," spoke T, as if he were bringing up bad memories. "A long time ago, when I was young and inexperienced, I went upon a rescue mission. A girl whom I thought to be dead. She was in the company of the Vampire Clan, a prisoner you might say. She was the niece of the leader of the Werewolf Clan, who they were fighting with. I should draw to your attention that the girl was not herself a werewolf. As I was on my way to a village, I met a young woman who called herself Duchess."

"I've heard that name somewhere before," said Kim.

T nodded and continued, "Duchess was the leader of the Vampire clan. Not just because she was the strongest, but because she was the mother of all vampires. She and her sons are responsible for all vampires that have been made. Because I fought the leader of the Shadow Beasts and survived, uh sort of, she wanted me to give her another son. So she turned me, and controlled me. I did many bad things during that time, but by a bit of irony, I was freed by the very person I had set out to rescue. Duchess wasn't in the least bit pleased at that and took her revenge on me by stealing away the girl. Like she did to me, she did to her also. I tried to use the Ruby Heart on her, but it did not work. To save many, I had to sacrifice the few. I was forced to kill her. Duchess thought this was very funny and in my anger I killed her in battle. That was my mistake. I gained her power and her evil. I became the strongest vampire in existence, and Duke was born. He only had a few minutes free before the Ruby Heart sealed him in. In short, Duke is my dark side."

T looked out the window, "He's still out there somewhere. I was too weak when I fought him, so he was able to escape. He'll be out of commission for a while at least."

"Do you think he'll come after me again?" asked Kim.

"Yes, most definitely. But you will be ready for him next time. I take it you still have the other piece of the Ruby Heart?" asked T.

Kim nodded, "Yes, it was with your medallion."

"Then keep it on you at all times. It will protect you from his influence, and Ron's love for you will make it grow. It will grow stronger and protect you from evil."

T starred at the door again. "Global Justice is out there, aren't they?" he asked.

"Yes," said Kim, "They want to ask you some questions of their own."

"I'm sure they do. You should go now, they are coming. Oh, and don't worry about your house, like I said I'll take care of it."

"I've got just one more question," said Kim. "What does HDPD stand for anyway?"

T just smiled "I'll tell you later, in a place where the walls don't have ears." Kim and Ron left the room. Sure enough as T had said, they saw Dr. Director walking down the hall toward them.

"Kim, Ron," said Dr. Director as she approached them.

"Dr. Director, T just mentioned that you were coming. I think he's expecting you," said Kim.

"Really? He is?" Dr. Director said surprised. She opened the door and walked in. "He's not in there," she said as she came back out. Kim and Ron looked in the door. The room was empty and the bed was made. It looked as if no one had ever been in the room. They checked the windows to find they were locked. "Typical M.O.," said Dr. Director.

A few days later a construction crew came and rebuilt the Possible home, they said it was paid for. When it was finished, furniture was delivered and all their possessions were replaced or at least what could be bought. When Kim went upstairs to her newly built and furnished room, she found a box sitting on her dresser. She opened it up and found the broken piece of the Ruby Heart. It had been refitted and was hanging from a thin gold chain. Also inside the box was a letter.

I have told you about how everything has a purpose, and a reason behind them. What I did not tell you is that most often you do not realize what it is until it has passed. That is what has happened. The events that took place so long ago have been the culmination for recent events. I have found and terminated Duke. He is a threat to you no more, and I did not absorb his evil. The world can breathe a little easier now that one of the major evils has been destroyed. I must thank you for this feat, for without your help I would still be carrying it around with me or worse. I have fitted the Ruby Heart piece you have with a chain so you may wear it. As I said it will protect you and keep you close to Ron no matter how far apart you are. You will also find out in a few days that no one will remember the events that took place. Only you and Ron will remember it, tell no one. As members of the Hyper-Dimensional Police Department (HDPD), you are sworn to secrecy of all HDPD business. We may meet again someday, until then take care.

Guardian T


End file.
